seven secrets of high-performing cpa firms
in this newly competitive environment, the difference between success and failure can pivot on the smallest competitive advantage…
outlook & analysis
sevenkeys cpa offers strategic planning online workshop for accounting firms
the sevenkeys to successful cpa firm management, a ground-breaking and comprehensive investigation into the critical success factors for today’s accounting firm, is now offering a two-hour online workshop. thursday, september 22, 2011 12:00-2:00 p.m. eastern $289 per connection (discounted from … continued
re-engineering partner accountability
marc rosenberg explains why change needs to start at the top…
10 global mega-trends for this year’s partner retreat
as busy season ebbs into memory and accounting firms start looking toward the future, top managers will be confronting a host of difficult issues.
by rick telberg
many of the most pressing issues are close to home — winning a few more big clients, nurturing succession, finding adequate capital to reinvest in the business. some other issues, however, may seem more abstract. they are, to be sure, no less real.
a host of global trends are conspiring to make this year’s retreat season just that much more complicated for accounting firm leaders.
here are 10 top global trends that are rushing headlong toward the american accounting firm industry: read more →
accountant job confidence dips
although workers gain confidence in the economy, more see job opportunities narrowing.
job confidence among u.s. accounting and finance workers dropped 4.0 points to 52.1 in the first quarter of 2011, according to mergis group, the sfn-owned placement agency.
more highlights: read more →
software cfos expect cloud computing to drive their industry’s growth
leaving the recession behind with new hiring.
software company ceos and cfos say in a new survey that cloud computing and software-as-a-service will drive spending in their industry over the next 12 months.
the survey also finds most expect their company’s business will grow by at least 20 percent in 2011 and that hiring will increase significantly. the software ceo/cfo outlook 2011 study was conducted by sand hill group and underwritten by adaptive planning and intacct.
other key findings include: read more →
technology raises the bar: four things accountants must do to keep up
principles of accounting remain unchanged, but…
by dustin lubertazzi,
senior consultant, sageworks, inc.
luca pacioli, an italian mathematician and franciscan friar, is widely known as the “father of accounting” for publishing 36 chapters on the double-entry accounting method used by venetian merchants during the italian renaissance. his book, summa de arithmetica, geometria, proportioni et proportionalita (which translates, “everything about arithmetic, geometry and proportion”), was written as a textbook for students in northern italy at the end of the 15th century. pacioli’s documentation of double-entry accounting and ledgers taught entrepreneurs of the day how to conduct business using timely and accurate financial information, and it established the fundamentals of accounting still practiced today.
pacioli’s fundamentals were only feasible thanks to the written numeral system and the abacus developed before that. and since then, the industry has seen further and more ground-breaking developments including the introduction of the typewriter, then computers, and later the internet. with each of these milestones, technology not only impacted how accountants handle financial information but also how they interact with their clients.
with the changing technological landscape, what must accountants do to stay competitive in the future, and how will technology change the future role of the accountant?
is iasb/fasb “convergence” just a charade?
do latest developments suggest a slow death?
the gimlet-eyed jim peterson was never fooled.
why no-one has called the question on this endless charade reflects the two-level fantasy in the dialog: the iasb and the fasb both pretend to believe in the desirability of fully-converged accounting standards, and the community of financial statement issuers and users pretend to believe them.
it’s time to celebrate “national accountants week”
there ought to be a law.
our all-time favorite idea for celebrating the end of busy season comes from ann m. menke, a cpa with offices in west point and keokuk, iowa.
her firm is celebrating “national accountants week.”
tax season 2011: it was a rough one
practitioners close the books on a tough tax season.
granted, it wasn’t as bad as the months and years immediately following the financial crash of 2007. but the reviews are mixed.
what was your season like?
join the survey. get the results
we’re still sifting through your comments to add it all up. but here are a few:
read more →
tax season 2011: irs stats thru april 8
irs reports tax receipts from professional practitioners run 7.2% ahead of year-ago…
u.s. tax rates, 1916-2010
from visualizing economics, we see this spectacular depiction of the top marginal tax rates in the u.s., from 1916-2010, for personal income, corporate, and capital gains tax rates:
four in ten americans face retirement crisis
and many of those who aren’t worried, should be.
almost 40 percent of working americans say they will never afford retirement, which, for the second year in a row, ranks as the nation’s most important financial concern, according to an aicpa survey.